Pages

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Color-coded love stories and revealing female anatomies lead to the puzzling death of world-renowned sculptor, Bruce Jones.

In life, the artist loved women, almost as much as women loved him. Adored for his art, colorful personality, and sexual prowess, Bruce is mourned by the world. The multifaceted perspectives of his four ex-wives, the current wife, his new love interest, and their children narrate this pulse-pounding tale. Loose ends are tied up by the insights of Sylvia, his son Aaron’s wife and a trusted keeper of secrets; Scott, the private investigator and family friend; Nonna, the quintessential grandmother everyone loves but to whom few are truly related; and Detective Jim Miller who will not rest until he discovers Bruce Jones’ murderer.

Monday, November 28, 2016

When a Native American Salish woman seeks out her past, she must challenge her beliefs in herself and her family or lose her chance at love.
Rachiah has always prided herself in her heritage in the Salish community in northwestern Montana. When she finds out her dad isn’t her biological father, Rachiah determines it’s time to find out the truth everyone has kept hidden.
Damon has hurt a girl like Rachiah in the past. His need to make it up to her and assuage his guilt overwhelms him, forcing him to pursue a friendship with Rachiah when her aloofness would normally discourage him from trying further.
Will Damon’s need to fix his guilty past mess with Rachiah’s need to find herself? Or will they both diminish into the forgotten world of what-ifs and ranches?
Grab the next installment of the Montana Trails series and get roped into a family saga worth risking your heart for.

Real people, real loss, real love.
Bonnie focuses on the emotional thrill of the romance, the discovery of self and the dynamic forces at play to both pull and push love growth.
With 6 children and her own eternal romance at home, Bonnie lives her own dream every day. She's spoiled with blessings and wants to share the joy of ever-after possibilities with others.
Whether it's a happy-ever-after or a happy-for-now, the emotions will leave you story drunk for days, if not years.
You'll be able to say where you were when you closed the book.
Surviving all things real and coming out better on the other side.
Follow on:Facebook / Website/ Twitter / Goodreads / Newsletter/ Literary Addicts / Amazon

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Jeanette Hubbard's humorous style of suspense writing has been compared to Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich. In this quirky follow-up novel, a chance encounter in a remote forest campground plunges plucky retiree Claudie O'Brien into a vortex of crime, kidnapping, and a marijuana hijacking. A pleasant dinner with Nathan, the gentleman at the next campsite, is disrupted by the arrival of a very loud and a very angry young man. The next morning both Nathan and the man are gone, but Claudie suspects something is not right. No one believes her when she tells them that Nathan might be in danger. It's up to Claudie to connect the dots and find out why Nathan disappeared in the middle of the night.

Other Books By Jeanette Hubbard:

Humorous, Women's Fiction, Women's Suspense/Mystery

Published: June 2015

On a crisp winter mid-afternoon, Claudie O'Brien finds herself parked in her BMW with some old pills, a bottle of champagne, and no reason to keep on living. When an accident occurs in Claudie's attempt to take her own life, she finds herself rescued by Peter, a local vice-principal turned tow truck driver. In Secrets, Lies and Champagne Highs, written by first-time novelist Jeanette Hubbard, readers follow Claudie's journey to Sisters, Oregon,having moved into the remodeled garage of Peter, his two sweet kids, and his not-so-sweet second wife, Chrystal. Claudie quickly realizes that she's entangled herself in more than she anticipated. On top a botched suicide,there's the meth lab across the street, a non-existent murder plot turned reality, a phony spiritual guru, and more affairs between local citizens than she can keep straight.

After reading this humorous take on small town life in Central Oregon, those sleepy little towns will never look the same.

Excerpt

Nathan regained consciousness somewhere just before Hammer turned off I5 in Yreka. They had used duct tape on his mouth, hands, and feet, and then wrapped it around his chest and the chair for good measure. He wasn’t going anywhere soon. The blood had crusted on the side of his head where Hammer had clocked him. The pain was deep and centered behind his left eye. He had gotten lax. After all those years in Lebanon, and other more dicey places, he had left his RV unsecured. A child could have found the Glock 39. He wiggled his jaw a bit, the three days growth of beard had prevented the duct tape from adhering securely to his skin, and he worked to loosen it. He didn’t want it to drop noticeably so he did just enough so he could talk or shout if needed. The majority of the space inside the RV was taken up with stacks of plastic-wrapped marijuana bricks. There wasn’t any way he could get to his second, emergency revolver that was hidden under the sink. Pity. Hammer parked the RV in a small park and reached over to the passenger seat where he had a small cooler and pulled out a cold beer. He drank it down in three long pulls and then sat fidgeting for about fifteen minutes before he started calling. First his brother Sprocket, and then someone else called Dwight. Hammer was nervous and agitated. The trick was how to use that to his advantage.

Nathan watched the single headlight of a truck go by on the road. He knew they were in northern California, an area referred to as the Emerald Triangle. Full of nasty boys. He could only wonder why thieves from Oregon would set up a drug deal in the middle of California’s prime marijuana growing fields. Well, it wasn’t hard to figure out. These weren’t the brightest guys he’d come across. Yet, he was the one tied up. Not time to feel too superior. The truck with one headlight drove by again. A little slower this time.

“You do know that you’re trying to do your deal in enemy territory?” Hammer jumped a foot off his seat, giving Nathan a small amount of satisfaction.

“What the fuck? How did you …?” “It’s the beard. Duct tape can’t adhere strongly to it. A good thing too. I have a slight cold. I would have had trouble breathing. I assume you’re not planning to kill me?”

“Don’t be too sure, old man.”

“The way I look at it, Hammer—you don’t mind if I call you Hammer?—if your buyer doesn’t get here in the next, say, thirty minutes or so, you’re going to have an up front and probably hazardous to your health kind of confrontation with some local guys. They find out you’re selling dope in their territory, they’re going to be real perturbed. They’re going to have a short and to the point discussion about the lack of respect that demonstrates to them.”

“What the fuck? I didn’t understand half of what you said, old man. Can’t you speak plain American?”

“My name’s Nathan. Sorry about the verbiage. I was a university professor. Big words were my stock and trade, so to speak. To be simple, you may have already attracted the attention of some other bad guys. They may be coming back. If they do, they will probably shoot at you. I don’t like the idea of being in the middle of your shit. Is that plain enough?”

“Don’t you worry about me, Professor, I ain’t exactly unequipped for run-ins with other dudes. This here is one nice pistol. Where’d you get this? You sure don’t look like someone who’d be packing a Glock. Even if it’s a little bitty one like this.” Hammer pulled the gun out from under his seat and waved it in Nathan’s direction. Nathan pretended to flinch; unless the idiot had been playing with it there was no bullet in the chamber, so the deadly weapon was currently just a piece of metal.

“Don’t worry yourself, Professor, I ain’t hit anything I didn’t want to since I was ten.”

“I have a question for you, Hammer. Why am I here? Why didn’t you just leave me at the campground? I’m just unnecessary baggage. You could kick me out now and there wouldn’t be any way I could muck up your plans.”

Nathan watched him closely. Hammer’s eyes and forehead were scrunched in thought. Nathan assumed he was trying to figure out a way to get rid of the problem that was Nathan. A witness who could identify him. The thought that this idiot might decide on a lethal solution to his problem made Nathan highly uncomfortable. He’d have to help Hammer come up with a resolution that didn’t end up with Nathan rotting in a shallow grave in the forest. There had only been one other time that he’d gotten in a jam, it was when he was “consulting” for a certain unnamed government agency. He kept his captor talking, trying to make himself human to a man who viewed non-believers as sub-human. That time of course, Dani swooped down and saved the day. He needed to let her know that somehow he’d tangled with some nasty boys. And in the meantime, as the great Chinese general Sun Tzu would have advised, “Pretend inferiority and encourage arrogance.” The great thing about dumb people like Hammer, they never knew they were dumb. They always thought they were the smartest people around. Sort of like the Enron guys.

About the Author

Jeanette Hubbard was brought up in Iowa to be a very good girl. Then she moved to Portland, Oregon the city that prides itself on weird. She has utilized her degree in English from the University of Iowa in a variety of jobs, including driving a school bus, selling car insurance, and growing, (and sometimes killing), plants at her wholesale nursery west of Portland. She now lives with her Border collie Buddy, Mitten the monster cat, her roommate's two demented small dogs, a miniature horse and two chickens in a small house in SE Portland. Actually, the horse and chickens live in the backyard.

Friday, November 25, 2016

William and Sydney have sacrificed everything to fortify their love, so much so that William dares to brave the depths of space to find a cure for their deadly Supernova bond, leaving both her and Earth vulnerable to Torrian Alliance attack. But with a full scale rebellion in play on Fabricius, the reality of Sydney’s execution from Torrian hands is diminished, only eclipsed by the certainty of a more threats – The Third Faction and The Dagmas Clan – lead by Dominic and his insurgent recruits. With overwhelming odds mounting against them, William makes a desperate attempt to find the last of the endangered Star-children only to be captured by a new menace, where he is forced to compete in the dreaded Gauntlet of sport. Allies surge to free Fabricius, seeking alliances across the galaxy while Sydney tries to keep her identity hidden and trains to master the third phase of her Star-child evolution: Solstice. With Sarah’s mysterious return home with clues to unlock the future, Noella’s training and Bill’s symbiotic development hope is restored, but will it be enough to unite the galaxy and destroy evil for once and for all?

Series Order

Supernova

Solstice

Protostar

About the Author

Multi-Award Winning and #1 Amazon Bestselling author Braxton A. Cosby is a dreamer who transitioned his ideas on pen and paper to pixels and keyboards. He tells stories that evoke emotions and stimulate thought. PROTOSTAR: BOOK 1 OF THE STARCROSSED SAGA and THE SECT: THE WINDGATE are currently Young Adult/New Adult series he created. He has written over 10 novels, including his new Superhero adventure book, THE CAPE is book three of the Dark Spores Series. He lives in Georgia with his amazing wife and a highly energetic Morkie named StarKozy.

Thursday, November 24, 2016

The Adventures of Fawn is a ‘coming of age’ series chronicling the exploits of the precocious, young daughter of legendary reindeer, Comet and Vixen. The year is 1849, and all three tales happen in the months leading up to….but ending just before Christmas. A deadly North Pole blizzard; a fierce, hungry arctic wolf; a scheming sea captain capturing animals to take to a New York City zoo; an evil former elf princess out to destroy the pendulum that enables Santa and company to live for hundreds of years; the trials and tribulations young Kristoff Kringle faced before he became the icon of Christmas; and a conniving stranger with a magic stone determined to steal Santa’s reindeer team …all of this and more await the young reindeer and her companions.

Children's Books

Date(s) Published:

Book 1: September 21, 2014

Book 2: July 4, 2015

Book 3: August 18, 2016

BOOK EXCERPTS for Book Blogs and Reviews

Excerpt #1 from ‘Til the Last
Snowflake Falls

Today was going to be the
day!

Fawn had it all planned out.
The young reindeer would wait until her dad and mum, Comet and Vixen, came home
to the stable, and she was going to calmly explain how unhappy she was.

Sure…she’d mentioned it
before, (more like every other day), but each time her bad mood had gotten the
better of her and she’d wound up arguing with her parents. Each time they had
told her she wasn’t old enough…not mature enough…to be going out on her own.

Fawn had often pondered over
their words.

Not mature enough?!

She wasn’t exactly sure what
that meant…but just the same she didn’t like the sound of it!

I think it’s like saying I’m still a baby! Darnit! I’m four and a half
months old!!

Fawn was convinced
fun…excitement….maybe even friends could be hers to enjoy if she was free to
explore the world outside Santa’s Village.

I blew it those other times by getting too excited. If I can plainly and calmly explain to mum
and dad how bored and lonely I am…how
I need some friends…surelythey’ll see how much I’ve changed…how much more ‘mature’ I am now…whatever that means! I’ll wait for them to come home…and then I’ll show them.

Yes, indeed! She had it all
planned out!

But sometimes even the best
laid plans can fall apart.

Excerpt #2 from ‘Til the Last
Snowflake Falls

How long they wandered in the blizzard,
they didn’t know. Fawn slipped and hurt her injured leg. It began to throb and
hurt a great deal. Walking on it was becoming more painful with every step she
took.

The falling snow was making her back very
wet, and very slippery. Bunny fell off again, and again, and again. Try as she
might, it became much too difficult for her to stay on for very long.

As Bunny slipped off yet again, Fawn saw
the look of fear and frustration in her eyes.

“Let’s try this.” she shouted.

With her teeth, Fawn gently grabbed Bunny
by the scruff of her neck. She carried her that way, as they struggled through
the cold, biting wind and drifting snow.

Hanging from her friend’s mouth, Bunny
watched as her leg bandage came undone. Then, it went flying off in the wind.
She saw it bounce into a drift or two. Then, it disappeared in the dizzying
whiteness of snow, which blew like a hurricane around them.

“Fawn! Your bandage just came off!”

“There’s nothing much I can do about
that!” answered Fawn, doing her best not to drop Bunny as she called out.
“Right now…a bandage coming off is the least of my worries!”

A voice in Fawn’s head seemed to be
shouting at her, taunting her, “Is this
enough excitement for you?! Do you
still not care how dangerous it is?”

But at that moment, Fawn understood words
once said, cannot be unsaid. She tried her best to shut out the voice. She had
enough trouble at the moment.

“I—I—I’m freezing!” Bunny cried. “I’m
s-s-sorry Fawn!!”

“Why? What for?” Fawn mumbled as she tried
to hold onto Bunny.

“It was my idea to go out looking for
clues! I made you break your promise. Now…we’re probably going to die in this
blizzard.”

Bunny almost slipped from her grasp, as
Fawn scolded her, “Stop that! Don’t talk like that! Don’t even think like that!
Everything is going to be fine! Just remember…together…until the last snowflake
faaallll—”

Suddenly, with Bunny still clenched in her
teeth, Fawn was tumbling down a steep slope. Head over hooves she rolled and
rolled. She never lost her grip on her little friend until they came to an
abrupt stop at the bottom of the hill. Bunny flew from her mouth, up into the
snowy air.

“Aahh!” Fawn cried out in fear. “Bunny!”

She was lying in the snow, unable to move,
and then suddenly Fawn felt something land on her belly. It was Bunny! But, she
wasn’t moving! She just lay there…silent and motionless.

“Bunny! Bunny? Are you alright? Speak to
me! Bunny!!”

She was too weak to raise herself to check
on her friend. The sound of her voice was lost in the roaring winds. Tears
rolled down her cheeks, as she looked at Bunny lying helplessly on her belly.

“Oh…Bunny!” she murmured through her
tears.

Then, she saw shadows approaching. She
could hear voices…but couldn’t make out who they were

Foddle?
Snowman?

But, she couldn’t see…and she couldn’t
stay awake any longer.

Excerpt #1 from Book 2- The
Ona Pendulum

It was at that
very moment…something very strange occurred.

Santa and Wajic
suddenly became motionless, and their faces appeared in energized broken
patterns…almost like shattered, electrified pieces of glass. Every angle of the
fractured pattern sputtered and flashed likenesses of them……but each one
different. In some they looked younger…and in others, older…….and older still.

Fawn, Bunny,
Snowboy and Doctor Weather were all quite surprised and taken aback. They had
absolutely no idea what was happening…or what they should do. The only choice
they had was to stand there powerlessly watching.

“Yes…perfectly
fine.” Santa answered. He noticed the concerned looks on everyone’s face, and
added, “Why do you ask?”

The Doctor
explained, “Well…something just happened a moment ago. Very odd! You didn’t
notice? You didn’t feel anything?”

Wajic stretched
his arms and yawned.

“Come to think of
it…I am a little tired all of a sudden.”

Santa brought a
gloved hand up to cover his mouth, as he also yawned.

“Me, too! Hmmm.
That’s very strange! What was it you saw?”

Fawn, Bunny,
Snowboy and Doctor Weather gave them the details of what they’d seen, and with
each piece of information, Wajic looked more and more worried.

Santa noticed.

“What is it, old
friend?”

“I’m not quite
sure, Kris. It could be nothing…or….it could be something! When we get back to
the Village, I’ll head to my workshop and look into it.”

As he yawned a
second time, Santa said, “Let’s just hope it’s nothing serious.”

Excerpt #2 from Book 2- The
Ona Pendulum

The young
reindeer’s chest suddenly felt tight, and she felt she might faint as she saw a
faint gasp of air escape Bunny’s lips. And then, her little chest stopped
moving.

“NO! Bunny!
Bunny! Don’t…………..leave me!”

She was frantic
as she crawled across the dirt floor of the cavern to Barney and Bert.

“Barney!! Bunny’s
not—”

But she stopped
when she saw Barney and Bert were no longer breathing, as well.

She hung her head
and huge teardrops fell from her big doe eyes. Her heart was palpitating and
she was quivering. She couldn’t believe it could end this way.

No…not
like this! This isn’t fair! How could we make it this far…only to lose anyway?

Fawn lay on her
side and her body literally trembled as a flood of unstoppable tears began to
fall.

And then, a
bright glow emanated from the area of the throne. Though her vision was blurred
from her tears, Fawn managed to get to her feet and peered toward the light as
an apparition slowly came into view. Ever-so-gradually it became clearer and
clearer until she recognized who it was.

“Atch?”

Although he was
rather transparent, and more of an outline than a true semblance of himself, he
was undeniably Atch. He casually walked toward Fawn, smiling warmly and holding
out his hand. As he neared her, he reached out and stroked her head.

He spoke softly,
and kindly, in his high-pitched voice.

“Do not grieve,
little one. Help is on the way this very moment.”

Through her
tears, Fawn blurted, “But….it’s….too……….late!”

“Faith, child.
Have faith! But…you’ll need to remember one word.”

Fawn’s ears
perked up, and she looked at him quizzically.

“A word? What
word?”

Atch smiled
impishly at her and answered, “Yes….just one word. Vita.”

“Vita? That’s
it?”

Excerpt #1 from Book 3-Far
And Yet So Near

“A little snow shouldn’t be a problem,
eh?” Doctor Weather called out to Foddle.

For the umpteenth time, she brushed snow
off Hutch that probably measured a couple of inches thick.

Foddle looked at a loss for words, as he
flicked snow off his beard and face.

“What can I say?” he replied. “How could I
have known?”

Bunny was completely covered in snow, and
shouted angrily at Snowboy, “A little snow never hurt anybody! Isn’t that what
you said?”

He took a moment to look down at himself
and then blurted out, “Hey! I think I’m getting bigger again!”

Once again, Bunny pointed a paw at him.
“Stop that!!”

Snow was falling so heavily, it was
difficult for anyone to even see the end of the dog teams.

Perched on Fawn’s back, Bunny cleaned snow
off herself as best she could, and shook her head disgustedly.

“A drop-off into nothingness…Hangnail
Pass…a Bridge with a mind of its own…playing ‘catch-up’ with a bunch of
wandering reindeer…and now a heavy snowfall! What’s next? An earthquake?!”

Fawn’s eyebrows came down heavy over her
eyes as she looked at her friend.

“Shh! Don’t say that! Don’t even think it!
When folks say ‘Things could be worse!’...you’re
not supposed to help things get that way!”

Excerpt #2 from Book 3-Far
And Yet So Near

Camilla seemed to be having a fairly good
day, and had just finished her fourth game of checkers with Fawn.

“Wow! We’re tied! Are you up for one
more….to see who the winner is?”

Fawn felt relieved her friend was in good
spirits and accepted the challenge.

Camilla was setting up the checker board,
and was just putting the last checkers in place when she suddenly turned her
head thoughtfully toward Fawn. Her emotions came to the fore, as they silently
sat looking at one another, and a single teardrop escaped her eye to run down
her cheek.

In a soft, sincere voice that sounded
almost pleading, she said, “Don’t forget me.”

All at once, the young reindeer felt short
of breath, and she blinked a few times. She knew what Camilla was doing…what
she was saying…and she didn’t want to hear it. She would rather have been
cooped up in her stable stall all day than have to face the fact her friend was
dying. She’d rather be anywhere else, than here….by Camilla’s bedside….having
this conversation.

But they were having this conversation…and Fawn was her friend. Apparently…her only friend!

It suddenly dawned on her that in the
eight weeks she’d been at the Fleming’s home, Fawn had never seen one friend
come to call on Camilla. She didn’t know the reason why…but for some reason,
this charming little girl was friendless…save for her.

Fawn came to Camilla’s side and nuzzled
her head against her arm. Then she stepped back…unsure of what to say or do.

What
would Mum or Dad say?

In an instant…the right words came to her.

“If I should forget you….it would be like
I have forgotten how to breathe.”

For a long time, they stayed like
that…close enough to feel each other’s love…and far enough away to not break
down and cry. Camilla’s tired eyes glistened with tears, and she bit down on
her bottom lip, as she beckoned Fawn nearer. All the reindeer could think of
doing was lay her head in her friend’s lap, and just feel her presence.

Fawn looked up and told her, “My friends
at the North Pole and I have a saying. It always seemed rather cute and
charming before. But now…it hurts me so when I think of the words.”

Softly stroking her head, Camilla asked,
“What is this saying you and your friends have?”

“Friends…..’til the last snowflake falls.”

The girl could feel Fawn’s head tremble as
she broke down in tears, and she tried her best to fight the urge to do the
same.

“You and your friends have a wonderful
saying. It really means that you’ll love each other forever.”

Fawn lifted her head up, and stared into
Camilla’s eyes.

“You……..are my friend…too! You’ll always
have a place in my heart….until the very last snowflake falls. And ever after
as well!”

As Camilla hugged Fawn tightly, she
whispered, “Thank you.”

Standing at the doorway, unnoticed,
Roberta handed a clean handkerchief to Mrs. Fleming, holding one back for
herself. Then, they quietly stepped back from the doorway, leaned against the
corridor wall and cried.

Through almost 40 years as a Santa Claus, Al E. Boy developed quite a repertoire of tales to explain and answer the many questions children ask about Santa, the North Pole, his reindeer, and his friends, the elves.

It was this collection of tales which prompted him to begin writing The Adventures of Fawn. Through the young daughter of legendary reindeer Comet and Vixen, he's been able to weave an exciting, colorful, imaginative world which will delight readers of all ages!

Mr. Boy not only hopes you enjoy these tales, but make reading them part of your Christmas traditions, as well.

Raised in a dysfunctional family, Cassandra Devlyn Ferguson has tried to leave the past behind and carve out a new life with her husband, former Black Ops specialist, Sean Ferguson. Her family's shady business dealings never involved her, and she intends to keep it that way.

Sean wants nothing more than to be a devoted, loving husband. But his new job sends him to the front lines at some of the world's most dangerous spots. For years, he's blamed his Irish wanderlust for the risks, but the truth is ' he enjoys the rush of adrenaline danger brings. When the Devlyn family's mistakes come looking for Cassie, it's up to Sean to bring her home safely.

The one positive? Cassie knows all about her family's true nature and is willing to walk away from everything to stay with him. The negative? Someone wants them dead and will stop at nothing to keep all the skeletons in the closet.

Born in the North, raised in the South, Nancy S Reece grew up surrounded by books. Now living with three horses, three dogs, three cats, two children, and one very supportive spouse, when she isn't writing, Nancy can be found wandering old abandoned buildings looking for inspiration.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Former British intelligence agent Mark Savannah escapes the international arrest warrant hanging over his head by taking refuge among the Tuareg of Mali. In 2008 the resurgence of fighting in the North of the country causes him to change his plans, forcing him into hiding in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he works undercover as a doctor at the hospital in Kinshasa. Trying to survive the widespread corruption in the country, Mark becomes a direct witness to the devastating and deadly effects of a transgenic plant project funded by an international consortium that is looking for breakthrough OMG production strains while ruthlessly taking huge risks with the native population’s health. Approached once again by British intelligence to investigate the activities of the consortium, Mark finds himself involved in violent clashes between several countries’ intelligence services as they fight for control over the territory and its markets. Mark once again finds himself facing a deadly confrontation with his mortal enemy and the "sniper" who has never stopped hunting him.

First Book in the Series:

Date Published: December 8, 2013

Mark Savannah has already lived two lives and now he is looking for a third, but he is trapped by a past he can’t escape.

Professor Zimmermann of the University of Buenos Aires has warned him: "They have been able to cover up the whole affair and destroy all the evidence".

Mark has discovered an extraordinary secret hidden deep in CIA director Colonel Reed's past and in the neural transplant operations of Biosketch Technologies Inc., a biotech company set up by Reed.

Mark came into contact with Biosketch Technologies Inc. and the diabolical Project “Transtem 1.1″ while studying civilian and military neural transplant patients. As Mark attempts to uncover the truth, he is pursued by Anaïs Degann, a CIA agent with orders to terminate him.

Project “Transtem 1.1″ is just the tip of the iceberg of Reed’s dark plans and, in order to get his life back, Mark has to break the ties connecting Colonel Reed with Colonel Kozlov of the Russian counterintelligence service. Reed’s links to Russian intelligence threaten to compromise international security and Mark must stop him at all costs.

About the Authors

Baibin Nighthawk writes spy fiction, thrillers and science fiction. She is the co-author of the Mark Savannah espionage series and of the Dhungwana Chronicles. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Certificate in Art (Martenot Arts Plastiques, Paris).

Dominick Fencer writes spy fiction, thrillers and science fiction. He is the co-author of the Mark Savannah espionage series and of the Dhungwana Chronicles. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences and an MBA.

Monday, November 21, 2016

Kristie is kind with a capital K, so it’s quite the surprise when she wakes up next to a dead man with no recollection of the previous night. Even worse? She’s naked. Kristie may be a sweetheart out to save the world, but sticking her nose into an investigation of rapes across campus makes her the target of a murderer. Before she knows it, Callie is smack dab in the middle of a murder investigation with her colleagues Callie and Anna. If that’s not enough to drive a sane person up the wall, a friend has decided he’s going to keep her safe whether she wants him to or not. And, oh yeah, he’s her man and that’s that.

Come join us at Callie’s Cakes, where murder investigations are on the menu. You are most welcome, but you may need to serve yourself as our barista Kristie is busy trying to save the world.

Warning: Although there are plenty of moments that will make you shake your head and laugh at the antics of the ladies of Callie’s Cakes, the subject matter – rape on college campuses – is very real and somewhat darker than your usual cozy mystery.

I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on from my mom's Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although I did manage, every once in a while, to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. But being a lawyer really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out being a B&B owner wasn’t my thing either. I decided to follow the husband to Istanbul for a few years where I managed to churn out book after book. But ten years was too many to stay away from ‘home’. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.

Diana Dearborn knows all about romance, at least in the books she writes. But passion eludes her in real life—until she’s offered the chance to travel back in time to Camelot. The world of King Arthur and Guinevere is nothing like she pictured, and neither is the knight she encounters upon her return to San Francisco: Gawain, the hero of her current project. He’s complicated, mysterious, and sexier than anything her imagination could conjure. And he’s been waiting for her…

Entwined by Desire

Now, joined together in a desperate race, Diana and Gawain must prevent an ancient, evil force from wreaking mayhem in the all-too-real present. Diana must learn to trust Gawain, even while she encounters secrets about her own past. But even if their mission succeeds, does Diana’s destiny lie with this man from another time—and will their love alter history forever?

EXCERPT

Making love to her had been a miracle. Gawain couldn’t regret it. The way she opened to him, the way she trusted him. He’d worried when she was so hesitant. He’d wondered if she was too damaged by her previous experience.

Had he been gentle enough with her? It had cost him every ounce of his control to go as slowly has he had, when he wanted to claim her as his own, fast and fierce, with the right to protect and defend her, the right to make love to her, for them to bear children together and stand together against all comers.

Gawain felt her stir in his arms. She still had her sleep shirt on, though it was entirely unbuttoned, leaving her soft breasts pressed against his chest. He had captured her thigh between his own as she dozed after sex. This was how they should sleep together, always.

She wiggled the leg between his. He opened his thigh immediately. “Did your leg go to sleep?”

“Yes.” She cleared her throat. “Well, it’s a little different saying them to someone in real life.” She cleared her throat again. “I, uh, I hope it was okay for you.”

“Yelling is a clue. You don’t often get yelling.”

She tried to suppress a smile and looked down.

He felt his cock springing to new life. Would he ever get enough of her? “I’m not sure your research is yet complete if you have to resort to ‘you know’ to describe things.” He rolled over on his back and scooted her over next to him. “Don’t you think you should explore a little yourself? Just in the name of research.”

She grinned but looked away.

“You can’t possibly be shy after opening to my mouth the way you did.”

“Was…was I too brazen?” She looked stricken.

“A man likes his woman to be lady in public and brazen in bed. You were perfect.”

“So, uh, I should be brazen now.” She slid a glance down to his groin.

“Yes.”

She took her lip between her teeth as though she were girding her own loins. “I suppose you know that all those things I wrote in my books—they were pretty much just words to me. I know the words well enough but…”

“But you should explore the reality,” he said.

She smiled shyly. “If you’re sure you wouldn’t mind.”

“I’ll bear up.” At least this time he could wait. He’d had one hell of an orgasm less than an hour ago.

“Well, I think I’ll start with your nipples. I was very curious earlier, but I didn’t like to, uh, just.... Well, you know.”

She bent over him and touched her tongue to his right nipple. Sensation shot to his groin. He hadn’t expected that. Not from just a nipple. Not after having spent himself so forcefully less than an hour before. She ran her tongue over it and then sucked gently. He cleared his throat. Now she raked her teeth across it, not biting, but the mere possibility of biting made him feel open and vulnerable to her. She continued working at it, alternating techniques while her other small hand gravitated toward his other nipple and began to tweak it.

She pulled up. “Now, describe how that feels please.”

“Good.”

She frowned at him. “I can’t just say it feels ‘good’ in my books.”

“Well, I’m a man. Men don’t wax flowery over…over things like that.” He took a breath. “That doesn’t mean you have to stop.”

She slipped down and slid her tongue into his navel. “I have other fish to fry right now. I’ll try to get back to them later.” She pulled his thighs apart and he obliged her. “I’ve read,” she said meditatively, “that the area just behind the testicles is very sensitive.” She took two fingers and rubbed the spot in question slowly, deeply. Lord, he was hard as a rock already. Could things get any more intense? “Is that true?” she asked.

“Uh, yes.” Where did she read these kinds of things? In books like hers?

“Pleasurable?”

“That would be yes.”

“And balls, do you like them caressed if I promise to be very gentle?”

“I, uh, I don’t know. No one’s ever done, uh, that exactly to me.”

“You surprise me.” She gave a knowing smile. “A man with your experience?”

The last woman he’d had was the Green Knight’s wife, and that was many years ago. At the thought of the Green Knight and his failure of honor, his heart contracted. He had to put that failure away. This was for Diana. He would perform the act of loving with her, for her, as a healing rite. That was the height of honor. And if it wasn’t, then honor be damned.

Susan Squires grew up among the giant redwoods of California. She thought she was being practical by changing her major in college from theater to English literature. Immersed in a PhD. Program, she slowly realized that none of her graduating friends had work. So she dropped out after receiving a Master’s degree to take an paying job in the business world.

As an executive in a Fortune 500 company, she returned to her love of writing while continuing to hold her day-job, much to the amusement of her fellow executives. Her novel Danegeld, had already been purchased by Dorchester by the time she accepted a Golden Heart for Best Unpublished Paranormal Manuscript from Romance Writers of America. It was the first of an eclectic group of historical and contemporary paranormal stories known for their intensity. Body Electric was named by Publishers Weekly one of the ten most influential paperbacks of 2002, for blending romance and science-fiction. Book List compared No More Liesto the works of Robin Cook and Michael Crichton, but it was also a Rita finalist for Best Published Paranormal Romance by Romance Writers of America.

Susan’s Companion Series for St. Martin’s Press continued to garner attention with admiring reviews and several visits to the New York Times Bestseller List. Publishers Weekly named One with the Shadowsa Best Book of the Year, and several of the series received starred reviews. Her books have won the many regional contests for published works of paranormal romantic fiction.

Susan no longer has to use tales of romance and adventure to escape budgets and projects. She finally left her day job, and researches and writes her books at the beach in Southern California, supported by three Belgian Sheepdogs and a wonderful husband named Harry who writes occult mysteries as H.R. Knight